The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has cleared the Nigerian military of allegations concerning the forced termination of approximately 10,000 pregnancies in the North-East region.
The decision came from a seven-member investigative panel led by retired Supreme Court Justice Abdul Aboki, which deemed the claims made in a foreign media report as unfounded.
After nearly two years of intensive investigation, the Special Independent Investigative Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations presented its findings at the NHRC headquarters in Abuja on Friday. The panel found no substantial evidence supporting the serious accusations against the military.
NHRC Senior Human Rights Adviser, Hilary Ogbonna, emphasized the panel’s conclusion, stating, “For the abortion assault, the panel did not find evidence that the Nigerian Armed Forces committed a systematic secret or policy-bringing abortion in the Northeast to the tune of 10,000 abortions. There was no evidence before the panel to prove that.”
The NHRC Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, highlighted the commission’s commitment to addressing human rights concerns, pledging to engage in public consultations regarding the report. “The NHRC is committed to ensuring that citizens of the Abisari community identified in the report receive compensation and will continue to work with the military and the Office of the Attorney General to ensure that justice is served. Never again shall these kinds of atrocities go unaddressed,” Ojukwu asserted.
Plans are underway for a civil-military forum to discuss the report’s findings and implementation strategies among stakeholders. This comes in the wake of a controversial Reuters report from December 2022, which accused the Nigerian military of grave human rights violations during counter-insurgency operations since 2013. The report alleged that the military had conducted secret, systemic, and illegal abortion programs, terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies and recounting harrowing experiences from alleged victims.
The report claimed that many of these abortions were carried out without the consent of the women and girls involved, primarily those rescued from Boko Haram captivity. However, the NHRC’s recent findings have cast doubt on these allegations, signaling a pivotal moment in the ongoing dialogue about human rights and military operations in Nigeria.
